


the fourth of july

by bluebeholder



Series: the accidental epic [12]
Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Background Relationships, F/M, Family Fluff, Fourth of July, Historically Accurate Singing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-11-23 09:13:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11399538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluebeholder/pseuds/bluebeholder
Summary: There's no reason not to celebrate the Fourth of July, even when you're fugitives on the run from the law. Who does fireworks better than a wizard, anyway?





	the fourth of july

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Fourth of July from the Suitcase Family!! Do you know that I totally FORGOT ABOUT THE FOURTH OF JULY when I first wrote a better mirror? I am rectifying that situation right now. No read more because…well, it’s less than 1,000 words, there’s no point.
> 
> Of course–have some history! “The Star-Spangled Banner” wasn’t the official national anthem until 1931. “My Country Tis of Thee” and “Hail Columbia” served as unofficial anthems as well, so Jacob actually knowing the lyrics to those is more than plausible.The dinner is taken piecemeal from actual 1920s Fourth of July menus. In an ideal world, you’d tie the sandwiches up with blue ribbon, but our dear fugitives have dispensed with that grace note.
> 
> Do you know how hard it was not to make Hamilton/1776 references in this thing?

Jacob wakes up on the Fourth of July and has a complete disconnect for a moment. And then he sits upright and says aloud, “It’s the Fourth of July!”

Queenie rolls over, blinking up at him. “…oh, it is, isn’t it,” she says. She smiles and cuddles against his hip. “I think they’d all celebrate, if you asked.”

They do.

“We are having fireworks,” Credence says without missing a beat, when Jacob raises the subject over breakfast.

“I don’t entirely get it,” Newt admits, “but then again I’m not one for parties at all.”

“We used to do celebrations at home,” Tina says. “Though I was never clear on why, it’s not like we fought some kind of war of independence.”

Graves, who’s still a little pale after yesterday, shrugs. “There were wizards who took part,” he says. “There were quite a few blind eyes turned.”

Tina rolls her eyes. “Have wizards ever actually abided by the Statute of Secrecy?” she asks.

“No,” Queenie says. She squeezes Jacob’s hand. “And who cares if we celebrate some old Revolution? Let’s celebrate our freedom.”

Jacob smiles at her. “I like that,” he says.

They do end up celebrating the Revolution, a little. Credence turns out to be positively chatty on the subject of the Fourth of July. Apparently he’d had to memorize the Declaration of Independence at one point and never forgot it, so he recites it for them over lunch. Graves is finally convinced to talk more extensively about the American wizards who fought in the Revolution: apparently, illegal heroics occurred up and down the lines. Some of the stories—a one-man stand at the Battle of Long Island, a pitched duel at the Battle of Monmouth—are absolutely thrilling.

Between Newt and Tina, several trout are caught. Jacob makes cherry pie, impeded only slightly by Credence loitering around stealing pieces of pie crust and cherries. Queenie makes butter and pimento sandwiches, which Graves helps with. Jacob thinks it’s kind of sweet, watching such a ridiculously imposing man be ordered around by tiny Queenie.

At dinner, while the trout is cooking over the fire, Tina and Queenie perform a rousing rendition of the Ilvermorny School Song. Even though they needle Graves to pitch in, he refuses, laughing at the out-of-tune song. Jacob sings the Star-Spangled Banner, and it turns out that the ladies do know My Country ’Tis of Thee, and that one isn’t terribly out of tune.

Credence is impatient for fireworks, and the second it’s dark enough to see he starts in on all of them to get up. Of course it’s Graves who gives in first. Tina follows quickly, though, getting up and running out into the field beside the two of them, making her suggestions for how they’ll do fireworks the best. Newt, contemplative, follows, and Queenie pulls Jacob out to join the rest. They’re away from the trees, so they don’t set anything on fire.

Tina starts things off, aiming her wand at the sky and shouting, “Periculum!” A fountain of red sparks shoots into the night, hanging spectacularly for a moment before fading out.

“My turn,” Newt says, glancing at Tina with a smile. He aims at the same spot in the sky. “Stella Argenta!” A fountain of silver sparks spiral from his wand, exploding up like stars.

Graves and Credence are in conference, and finally Credence turns around. Graves hovers at his shoulder. “Just throw it,” he says.

Credence bites his lip. “Chromato Pyrorum!” he says, shoving his hands out from his chest, and colored fire leaps from them up into the sky to join the lights Newt and Tina are now casting almost in synchronization.

“Aren’t you going to play, Graves?” Tina calls.

Jacob sees him wink at her. He aims his wand at the sky without looking where he’s pointing and casually says, “Bombarda Maxima.”

The explosion in the sky shakes the ground. It’s like a cannon going off, and Jacob can’t help laughing with exhilaration. “Wizards and fireworks,” he says, shaking his head as he turns to Queenie. “I maybe didn’t think this through.”

He stops when he sees that she’s holding her wand out to him. “Your turn,” she says.

“I can’t do that,” Jacob says.

Queenie turns him around and steps in front of him, aiming her wand at the sky. “Hold my hand,” she says, looking up at him.

Tentatively, Jacob does as she says. “What now?” he asks.

“There’s a little bit of a kick,” Queenie warns. “Stella Aurum!”

There is a kick. The wand jerks in their hands as golden sparks erupt, hurtling up to join Credence’s multicolored fire, Tina’s red lingering sparks, Newt’s silver sparks, and Graves’ explosions. It’s a beautiful sight. Jacobs puts his free arm around Queenie’s waist, holding her close. He isn’t casting the spell, not really, but he’s the luckiest man alive, being so close to all this magic. Hell, he’s holding a wand.

He’s never felt freer than he does right now. To hell with the things that are wrong with the world, with the people who want them all locked away and shut up. It’s like Hail Columbia says: “Firm, united let us be, rallying round our liberty, as a band of brothers joined, peace and safety we shall find.”

Under the fireworks, surrounded by friends, Jacob is really hoping for their future.

**Author's Note:**

> A thought for the fellow Americans reading this fic...I know that the Fourth of July and American patriotism in general are getting a lot of criticism right now. There is, in my eyes, nothing more patriotic than having the courage to question your government and the society you live in. You don't have to unquestioningly fall in line to be a patriot: to me, there is nothing more patriotic than calling for the constant betterment of society.
> 
> So if you don't want to celebrate America as it is today, celebrate the people who will truly change things for the better. Celebrate the people who call congressmen, who blow whistles, who organize marches. Celebrate the people who fight for net neutrality and environmental protections and health care. And then get out there and JOIN THEM. It doesn't end today. Do NOT sit down, and do NOT throw away your shot. "To hell with the things that are wrong with the world, with the people who want (us) all locked away and shut up." Because **that's** patriotism: the constant fight for liberty and justice for all.


End file.
